US planes attack Iraq

The US says Iraq has been improving its air defences

US planes have carried out a new air strike on a surface-to-air missile site in southern Iraq, the US Department of Defense says.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the aircraft targeted a radar installation which was a key part of Iraq's air defence system.

Four days ago dozens of US and British planes carried out the heaviest raids against Iraq by coalition forces for six months. One person was killed in the strikes on air defence sites.

Earlier this month, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein warned western planes to leave Iraqi airspace or face retaliation.

A statement from US Central Command said the latest raid was carried out "in response to recent Iraqi hostile threats against coalition aircraft monitoring the southern no-fly zone".

Precision guided

The US planes attacked a fire-control radar that helps Iraq guide its missiles and is located near An Nasiriyah, about 272 kilometres (170 miles) southeast of Baghdad.

Mr Whitman said the air force F-16s bombed the site with precision guided missiles and returned safely to base.

If you want to save your pilots and planes from the fire of the courageous combatants of Iraq... stop attacking Iraq

Saddam Hussein

"This radar has been an element of the Iraqi air defence system that has been directly contributing to the effectiveness of their integrated air defence system," he said.

Last month, President George W Bush said the United States would continue putting pressure on Saddam Hussein after an unarmed U2 spy plane on a reconnaissance mission was almost shot down by an Iraqi missile.

US analysts took this as a sign that Iraq had improved its anti-aircraft defence systems.

The US fears that Iraq has improved its missile capability

The White House says Iraq has recently stepped up its efforts to shoot down planes patrolling the no-fly zones over the north and south of the country.

In a speech to mark the 13th anniversary of the end of the Iran-Iraq war, Saddam Hussein said: "If you want to save your pilots and planes from the fire of the courageous combatants of Iraq, you must leave and take your planes and warships with you, and stop attacking Iraq".

The no-fly zones, within which Iraqi aircraft are forbidden from flying, were set up in 1991 after the Gulf War, to protect Shia Muslims in the south and Kurds in the north from attack by Iraqi Government forces.